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A Deep Dive into the Internet Meme

Copy the link to learn more on our site: http://www.mdgadvertising.com/blog/a-deep-dive-into-the-internet-meme-infographic/ - Internet memes are cultural ideas that spread virally throughout the Web. In 2012, these Internet pop culture snippets rapidly rose in popularity and power as they captured the moments that got everyone talking, tweeting, mocking, and rocking. To recall the most memorable memes of the year, MDG Advertising developed an entertaining infographic featuring the four Internet memes that took over the Web and the world. It offers a look at the photos and videos that caught our attention and explains why these moments became iconic images of our time. Check out MDG’s infographic to see the year’s Internet memes that made laughable, lovable, and lasting impressions.

One of the most widespread memes was the Kony 2012 social media sharing blitz. For this viral video campaign, the Invisible Children nonprofit organization posted a video promoting the capture of the notorious war criminal Joseph Kony and urged viewers to spread the word to certain celebrities and political powerhouses via Twitter. This sparked a spike in total video views to reach 9 million in a single day and hit 100 million in less than a week to set a new record for the most viral online video. Since young adults were the target audience, social media proved to be the perfect way to reach and resonate with this market. While the campaign gained massive attention, the meme was ultimately deemed unsuccessful due to rampant criticism and controversy.

The infographic also features the famous face of McKayla Maroney, the United States Olympic gymnast whose scowl over her Silver medal on the award platform became one of the most mocked memes of the year. Her grimace during a moment of glory spread through the Web like wildfire and inspired countless Photoshopped images of her face inserted into iconic photos, as well as hilarious Halloween costumes and personal comparisons by other famous faces.

Then, the infographic goes on to recall Mitt Romney’s campaign-changing comment regarding his “binders full of women.” In the second presidential debate, the candidate made a huge gender gaffe with an offhand remark about pay equity during his time as governor. Moments after uttering that fateful phrase, the Web was flooded with parodies and the comment was quickly picked up by the mainstream media. It was found comical by some and condescending by others, but it ultimately stifled the momentum that was driving Romney’s rapid comeback and became known as a major meme of the campaign.

To learn more about the power of integrating infographics into your digital marketing strategy, contact MDG Advertising today at 561-338-7797 or visit http://mdgadvertising.com.

A Deep Dive into the Internet Meme

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A DEEP DIVE INTO THE INTERNET MEME DISSECTING THE LIFE CYCLE OF THE INTERNET MEME WITH AN ANALYSIS OF THE BEST AND WORST MEMES FROM 2012 In the past year, memes have grown, evolved, and expanded in reach and usage. Many of the most viral memes appeared in response to serious issues in politics and business around the country and, in some cases, the world. News organizations observed the power of memes, discussing their inﬂuence as their popularity rose and their deﬁnition broadened. And Merriam-Webster Dictionary even included the word in its 2012 Words of the Year list. But how do memes originate and go viral, and why are memes dominating the Web and popular culture? We examine four of the most popular memes from 2012 to see how they did it. KONY 2012 When the nonproﬁt organization Invisible Children uploaded its Kony 2012 video to YouTube, the ﬁlmmakers already had a strategic social media and sharing plan in place. To spread the word about African war criminal Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army, the organization’s website contained clickable images of 20 speciﬁc celebrities and 12 policy-makers and instructions to contact them via Twitter regarding the Kony 2012 campaign. “The most viral video in history.” Social Media Stronghold - Mashable Many celebrities in turn felt compelled to react to Kony In a day, the video’s total view skyrocketed, and it continued 2012 and spread the word about the video to their to do so. followers through Twitter, included: 100,000,000 VIEWS 9,000,000 VIEWS 66,000 VIEWS DAY 1 DAY 2 DAY 3 DAY 4 DAY 5 DAY 6 Invisible Children considered young adults who share content as its audience for Kony Within the ﬁrst week, there 2012, then targeted them accordingly through social media. were: Heard a lot Heard a little Heard nothing AGED 18-29 AGED 30-49 AGED 50-64 AGED 65+ 5,000 TWEETS ON 40% 20% 18% 29% 18% 30% 30% 37% 76 MILLION VIEWS ON 42% 50% 52% 43% Why It Failed Though heavily shared, the meme is considered a failure. The video tied in with the “Cover The Night” campaign, a daylong event of community service and Kony marketing. Turnout was very disappointing, due to a growing backlash of controversy. Notoriety of Kony 2012 led to: Critics lamenting The public Director Jason that the video discovering that Russell being glosses over much only 37% of hospitalized of Uganda’s history 37% Invisible Children’s after a and simpliﬁes a budget was “temporary very complicated directed to psychotic situation. programs in Africa. breakdown.” MCKAYLA IS NOT IMPRESSED After United States Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney fell during her second vault and received a silver medal in the competition, she stood on the award platform with an icy stare, pursed lips, and folded arms. The look went viral, as a Photoshopped image of McKayla began popping up online in pictures of important historical moments and famous works of art. The Rise of an Olympic Meme Famous Faces Also Unimpressed AUG 5 Maroney makes face on camera at the Olympics. Buzzfeed posts “McKayla Maroney Falls, Lets Out AUG 6 Her Inner ‘Mean Girl,’” which picks up 170,000 views in 48 hours. A tumblr blog titles McKayla is Not Impressed is created, AUG 7 and sites such as Mashable and What’s Trending discuss the meme’s creation and continue to spread awareness. President Obama The Wall Street Journal calls Unimpressed McKayla “the NASA’s Mars Rover Team AUG 8 Olympics’ ﬁrst breakout meme.” Al Roker BINDERS FULL OF WOMEN After wide consideration as victor of the ﬁrst 2012 U.S. presidential debate, Mitt Romney closed the gender gap among voters and was poised for a comeback. The Comeback Glib During the second presidential debate, however, Romney used the now-infamous phrase when discussing pay equity during his governorship. Jokes and parodies hit social media within minutes of the comment, which was then extensively covered by the media the next day. Considering peoples’ immediate response, many credited the meme with sparking the women’s rights discussion on the campaign trail. How it spread: Meme Mashups: After Romney makes the comment, it ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY immediately goes viral on Facebook, Twitter, OCT 16 YouTube, and Tumblr. People begin posting related parody reviews of actual binders on Amazon. The Tumblr has more than 11,000 followers, FILL BINDERS WITH WOMEN while the related Twitter account gains more OCT 17 than 32,000 followers. Many news outlets discuss the meme, including Time, The BINDERS FULL OF Romney still Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, CBS News, WOMEN, EH? uses binders? LOL and NPR. OCT 18 The “Binders Full Of Women” fan page on TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE MODERN Facebook grows to 343,000 likes. HIRING PROCESS, MR. ROMNEY GANGNAM STYLE Korean pop artist Psy dominated pop culture around the world with “Gangnam Style” for several reasons, including the: CATCHY BEAT OPEN-FOR-TRANSLATION LYRICS OVER-THE-TOP MUSIC VIDEO EASY-TO-DO DANCE SINGER’S CHARMING PERSONALITY International Income Getting & Setting Records Psys video catapulted But, with growing him from Korean to overabundance international stardom, comparisons to the 90’s hit and he and his record “Macarena,” even Psy company pulled in himself said that he hopes $4 $8 MILLION + about $4 million to “end the song” soon. It’s MILLION dollars of the over $8 no wonder “Gangnam million generating for Style” became the year’s Psy and His Online Record Company Advertising Deals YouTube with online ultimate meme that advertising deals. everyone loved to hate. Milestones of the Mega-Hit Video: What it spawned: THE “GANGNAM STYLE” MUSIC VIDEO IS RELEASED. Reaction videos Parody videos Dance mobs 1 BILLION VIEWS 870 MILLION VIEWS Popular parodies: 622 MILLION VIEWS 345 MILLION VIEWS 90 MILLION VIEWS Gandalf Navy University of Style Gangnam Style Oregon Style JUL 15 AUG 1 SEP 1 OCT 1 NOV 1 DEC 1 DEC 21 “THE MINDSET OF THIS DANCE IS DRESS CLASSY AND DANCE CHEESY.” - PSY EXPE C T MEME S TO GE T E V EN BIGGER IN 2013.SOURCES:KNOWYOURMEME.COM, MTV.COM, TIME.COM, FORBES.COM,BUSINESSINSIDER.COM, NYTIMES.COM, LATIMES.COM, CBSNEWS.COM,PEWINTERNET.ORG, BILLBOARD.BIZ, ADWEEK.COM, ABCNEWS.COM